For Dem Candidates, a Race to the Bottom

Here’s a link to a WaPo story by Matthew Mosk about the monster’s ball of “very good” Dem Presidential candidates from which trial lawyers have to choose. For them, it’s a virtual embarrassment of political riches. The trial lawyers have descended on Miami for their convention (probably busy signing up paternity suit plaintiffs for Anna Nicole Smith) and are talking about the Dem field. Of course last time they went with one of their own, John Edwards, but this time he has stiff competition in folks like Joe Biden, who apparently is willing to give away even more of the store than Edwards.

And, while the article mentions efforts by Barack Obama and others to hire former trial lawyer association staff to handle the pandering, it focuses on Biden. One ambulance chaser says he “simply cannot ignore the work Biden has done on the Senate Judiciary Committee to fight proposals that aimed to shield … businesses from legal liability.” Oh, great. But wait — there’s more. “Because of that long-standing, clear, unwavering approach” says this trial lawyer cum big contributor, “he’s deserving of support.” Another adds that Biden, “has demonstrated more loyalty to my clients” than any other candidate. Now how are you feeling…?

The story has lots of info about the size of their various contributions as well. After all, the candidates don’t woo these leeches for their votes, but for their money. And there’s plenty of it to be gotten, all drawn from the pockets of people who make jobs in this country, the “other America.”